In a first for Game of Thrones, fans across the world will be able to enjoy the highly anticipated Season 5 at the same time as the U.S. premiere. Indian fans too can rejoice as it is one of the 170 countries across the globe where the upcoming season of the hit series is going to premiere simultaneously with HBO’s U.S. airing on Monday, April 13 at 6:30 am IST on HBO Defined, with following episodes on subsequent Mondays at the same time. The repeat telecast of Game of Thrones Season 5 will be on Monday’s at 10 pm on HBO Defined.

The entire fifth season of the Emmy, Golden Globe and Peabody-winning series will be simulcast to HBO branded networks and broadcast partners across the world, creating a global television event week after week throughout the season’s 10 episode run.

“We are thrilled to bring Season 5 of Game of Thrones, one of the most iconic HBO Original TV shows, to Indian audiences at the same time as the U.S. airing,” said Monica Tata, Managing Director of HBO India. “This is our way of thanking the premium subscribers of HBO Defined for supporting us in making the channel a success."

Among those participating are the HBO branded networks: HBO Asia, HBO Canada, HBO Europe, HBO Latin America, HBO Netherlands and HBO Nordic.

Also included are international “Home of HBO” services including: Africa/M-Net, Australia/Foxtel, Belgium(Flemish)/Telenet, France/Orange, Iceland/365 Media, Israel/DBS, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia and SKY New Zealand.  HBO licensing partners in the simulcast include: Belgium(French)/Betv, Greece/Intervision, Russia/Amedia and Spain/DTS.                 

Since its debut Game of Thrones has become a worldwide phenomenon and the most popular series in HBO history. Last year, the series was the most searched television show worldwide on Google and the #1 most talked about show on Facebook in the U.S. 

Game of Thrones is based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series A Song Of Ice and Fire, where political and sexual intrigue abound as seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. The epic series whose storylines of treachery and nobility, family and honor, ambition and love, and death and survival, has captured the imagination of fans globally and made it one of the most popular shows on television.